TODAY:Wintry mix changes to mainly rain for Pittsburgh by 3 p.m. The mix changes to mainly rain north of Pittsburgh by 7 p.m., which means more ice on the ground.

TONIGHT:Heavy rain everywhere; 1-2 inches. A flood watch begins at 7 p.m. and continues until 7 p.m. Wednesday but will likely be extended.

WEDNESDAY:Rain tapers off in the morning but snow picks up and could be heavy in the afternoon and evening. Pittsburgh will be somewhere in the range of 1-3 or 2-4 inches. A winter storm watch south of Pittsburgh will be in effect from 4 p.m. Wednesday to 4 p.m. Thursday.

THURSDAY:It's starting to look like snow will continue much of the day, especially south. Pittsburgh is right on the line but it may be far enough north to get hit hard. South of Pittsburgh could have significant snow.

SAYING THAT THE TIMING OF THE VISIT, TWO WEEKS FROM THE ISRAEL ELECTIONS, IS PURELY A POLITICAL MOVE. WE'LL BE ON TOP OF THE STORY FOR YOU THROUGHOUT THE DAY. LET'S FOCUS ON THE WEATHER RIGHT NOW, BECAUSE WE HAVE A VERY BUSY DOPPLER BEHIND STEPHEN. LET'S SEE WHAT'S MOVING OUR WAY RIGHT NOW. WE'LL GET THAT WINTRY MIX CHANGING TO RAIN AND THEN TOMORROW GOING BACK TO SNOW AND ICE. VERY COLLOCATED FORECAST. NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IS DOING A GREAT JOB RIGHT NOW WITH THE LATEST WATCHES AND WARNINGS AND ADVISORIES AND OUR CONFIDENCE IS ACTUALLY BEGINNING TO GO UP, WHICH IS ALWAYS GOOD NEWS THE WAY BEFORE SOME REALLY NASTY WEATHER. HERE IS THE BIG PICTURE. WE'VE GOT A WARM FRONT AND A COLD FRONT. THE WARM FRONT IS COMING THROUGH OVER THE NEXT FEW HOURS AND WE'RE GOING TO GET THAT MILD AIR FROM THE SOUTH. SO WE GET SNOW, SLEET, FREEZING RAIN CHANGING TO RAIN, EVEN IN OUR COLDER SPOTS, BUT TONIGHT. TOMORROW THAT COLD FRONT COMES THROUGH AND THAT OPENS UP THE DOOR FOR NORTHWESTERLY WINDS AND TEMPERATURES ONCE AGAIN FALLING. THAT MEANS WE GO BACK TO FROZEN PRECIPITATION, SNOW AND SOME SLEET AND FREEZING RAIN. RIGHT ON TIME WE'RE GETTING THAT VERY LIGHT WINTRY MIX ACROSS THE AREA, EVEN IN THE CITY, BUT DOWN TO THE SOUTH AND WEST YOU CAN SEE WE'VE GOT MORE OF THAT MIX, AND SOUTH OF THAT, WE'VE GOT RAIN AND ULTIMATELY TONIGHT EVERYONE WILL GO BACK TO RAIN BEFORE GOING BACK TO SNOW TOMORROW. TEMPERATURE IN THE CITY CONTINUES TO GO UP BUT JUST BELOW FREEZING. 32 IS THE FREEZING MARK. WE'RE SITTING AT 30. SO ANYTHING FALLING RIGHT NOW CAN FREEZE ON CONTACT. AFTER 3:00 FOR THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH. THAT WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY COMES DOWN, WHICH IS WHEN WE GO TO ALL RAIN FOR THE REST OF THE AREA NORTH OF PITTSBURGH, YOU HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL ABOUT 6:00 OR 7:00 FOR THE CHANGEOVER, WHICH MEANS ICY ROADS ANYTIME BETWEEN NOW AND ABOUT 7:00 OR 8:00. WIND CHILL NOT TOO BAD AT 22 DEGREES. 3:00 IN THE CITY ALREADY CHANGED OVER TO MAINLY RAIN, MAYBE A LITTLE BIT OF LEFTOVER FREEZING RAIN, BUT THAT PINK AREA UP TO WORD I-80 WRAPPING AROUND THE EAST AND SOUTHEAST. THIS IS WHERE THE ICE CONTINUES. BY 9:00, 10:00 THIS EVENING, EVEN OUR COLDER SPOTS SWITCHING OVER TO RAIN. TOMORROW MORNING WE'LL ACTUALLY CATCH A BIT OF A BREAK, BUT AT 6:00 A.M. WE'RE ALREADY SEEING THAT RANGE CHANGE BACK TO SNOW, AND I THINK DURING THE AFTERNOON WE COULD HAVE SOME PRETTY HEAVY SNOW TRYING TO MOVE IN FROM PITTSBURGH AND SOUTH. AND AS A RESULT OF THAT, WE HAVE INCREASED OUR SNOW TOTALS FOR WEDNESDAY INTO THURSDAY MORNING. THIS IS ROUND ONE. THIS IS BY TONIGHT AT 7:00 PM. JUST NOT A LOT. MAYBE AN INCH, INCH AND A HALF UP TO WORD I-80. FROM PITTSBURGH NORTH I THINK IT'S A QUICK CODING THAT GETS WASHED AWAY BY THE RAIN. THE NEXT ROUND OF SNOW IS MUCH MORE SIGNIFICANT. WINTER STORM WATCH FROM 4:00 P.M. TOMORROW, THROUGH 4:00 P.M. THURSDAY FOR AREAS SOUTH OF PITTSBURGH. I THINK EVEN IN THE CITY WE COULD SEE TWO TO FOUR INCHES. SOUTH OF PITTSBURGH WE COULD BE IN THAT 4-6-INCH BAND. IF ONE OF OUR COMPUTER MODELS IS CORRECT, IT COULD BE EVEN HIGHER THAN THAT. MAKE SURE YOU TUNE IN TONIGHT TO MIKE HARVEY. TOMORROW MORNING WE WILL UPDATE YOU ON THAT. IN ADDITION TO ALL OF THAT, WE'VE GOT RAIN COMING THROUGH TONIGHT. 1-2 INCHES. THAT'S WHY WE'VE GOT THAT FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT, BASICALLY RIGHT THROUGH TOMORROW EVENING. IT IS LIKELY TO BE EXTENDED INTO THURSDAY AND FRIDAY AS WELL. HEAVY RAIN PLUS ALL OF THAT ICE AND SNOW FROM THIS WINTER BEGINNING TO MELT. THAT WINTRY MIX EVENTUALLY GOING TO ALL RAIN. 42 IN THE CITY. BY 3:00 P.M. WE SEE THE SWITCHOVER. EVERYONE ELSE WILL SWITCH OVER THIS EVENING. HEAVY RAIN FOR THE ENTIRE AREA WITH THAT LOW TEMPERATURE OF 38. WINDS PICKUP AS WELL. EARLY TOMORROW MORNING IS RAIN BUT AS EARLY AS 6:00, 7:00, 8:00 AM IT IS TRYING TO SWITCH BACK TO SNOW AS THE TEMPERATURE DROPS. 29 BY THE AFTERNOON. BELOW FREEZING, WHICH MEANS EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE GOES TO SNOW, WRAPPING UP ON THURSDAY MORNING. COLD THURSDAY, 20. DRY AND CHILI ON FRIDAY, 26. STILL LOOKING LIKE WE'LL GET BACK TO NORMAL TEMPERATURES BY THE WEEKEND. VERY COMPLICATED WINTRY MIX THE NEXT COUPLE HOURS, BACK TO RAIN AND BACK TO SNOW TOMORROW, SIGNIFICANT ACCUMULATION SOUTH OF PITTSBURGH INTO THURSDAY MORNING.

Pittsburgh reinvents itself as a Foodie Town

WTAE's “Chronicle: Taste of the ‘Burgh” gives you a flavor of Pittsburgh's creative culinary cuisine – from fusion to your parent's favorite spots, from the sidewalk to the food truck. We will take you inside the kitchens of some of Pittsburgh's award-winning chefs to tempt your taste buds.

Photos

WTAE's “Chronicle: Taste of the ‘Burgh” gives you a flavor of Pittsburgh's creative culinary cuisine – from fusion to your parent's favorite spots, from the sidewalk to the food truck. We will take you inside the kitchens of some of Pittsburgh's award-winning chefs to tempt your taste buds.

Pittsburgh is reinventing itself with food and the world is taking notice.

WTAE's “Chronicle: Taste of the ‘Burgh” gives you a flavor of Pittsburgh's creative culinary cuisine – from fusion to your parent's favorite spots, from the sidewalk to the food truck. We will take you inside the kitchens of some of Pittsburgh's award-winning chefs to tempt your taste buds.

WTAE Channel 4 has produced a primetime special, showcasing how the steel city is welcoming home award-winning chefs and gaining national attention as a foodie town. Chronicle: Taste of the ‘Burgh will air on WTAE Channel 4, Monday, March 2nd at 10:00pm.

“Pittsburgh’s food scene is exploding and gaining well-deserved national recognition.” said WTAE President & General Manager, Charles W. Wolfertz III. “We know Pittsburghers are proud of their city and their favorite restaurants. This is a program your entire family will enjoy watching together.”

Chronicle Host Sally Wiggin is joined by Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 Anchor Michelle Wright in this primetime special dedicated to the growing popularity of a variety of cuisines. From fine dining, to your family’s neighborhood favorite, to food trucks – Chronicle: Taste of the ‘Burgh has a full menu of restaurants to suit your palate and your wallet.

“It is wonderful to see how new restaurants are enriching and transforming Pittsburgh neighborhoods,” Wiggin said. “Chronicle: Taste of the ‘Burgh highlights how those same restaurants, in return, are being responsible and supporting local farmers.”

WTAE Channel 4 will premiere Chronicle: Taste of the Burgh on Monday, March 2nd at 10:00pm with an encore presentation on Friday, March 6th at 4:00pm. The special will additionally air on thisTV Pittsburgh on Wednesday, March 4th at 7:00pm and Wednesday, March 11th at 11:00am.

If you would like more information on this topic, or to schedule an interview with Charles W. Wolfertz III, please call Sheri Neill at 412-244-4669 or email Sheri at sneill@hearst.com

ABOUT WTAE 4

WTAE is a digital multi-media company providing news, weather, sports, information and entertainment content on WTAE Channel 4, WTAE.com, and thisTV Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 is honored with prestigious broadcast journalism awards including the Peabody and Edward R. Murrow Award. Pittsburgh’s Action Weather 4 is Western Pennsylvania’s most recognized weather forecast provider and is available on air, online, and on smart phones. WTAE Channel 4, the ABC station in Pittsburgh the nation’s 22nd largest market, is owned by Hearst Television Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Hearst Corporation, a leading media company whose global holdings include 31 television stations and two radio stations.

ABOUT HEARST TELEVISION

Hearst Television, a national multi-media company, owns and operates 31 local television stations and two local radio stations, serving 32 U.S. cities and reaching approximately 19% of U.S. television households. The TV stations broadcast 60 video channels, featuring local and national news, weather, information, sports and entertainment programming, and local community service-oriented programs. The stations also host and operate digital on-line and mobile platforms that extend the company’s brands and content to local, national and international audiences. Hearst Television is recognized as one of the industry's premier companies, and has been honored with numerous awards for distinguished journalism, industry innovation, and community service. Hearst Television is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hearst Corporation. Hearst Television’s Web address is www.hearsttelevision.com.

Pittsburgh's Action News 4 witnessed a 13-year-old girl's father arrive outside Dustin Moffat's home, jump on an SUV and smash its windows with a hammer, screaming about the violence that police say the Lawrenceville man inflicted on his daughter.

From Monroeville to Robinson, from Ross to Bethel, here are the 20 towns with the most registered sex offenders living and working in them. (Information gathered from state police Megan's Law website.)

Pittsburgh's Action News 4 witnessed the child's father arrive outside the home of suspect Dustin Moffat on Tuesday afternoon, jump on an SUV believed to belong to Moffat and smash its windows with a hammer.

The father, who is not being identified by WTAE to protect the girl's identity, screamed in anger about the violence that police say the 32-year-old Moffat inflicted on his daughter.

"Investigators believe there may be other victims and urge them to contact the Sex Assault/Family Crisis Unit at this time by calling 412-323-7141," the police bureau said in a news release announcing Moffat's arrest Tuesday.

The criminal complaint says the alleged sexual assaults happened on Denny Street. Neighbors who live next to Moffat and have 12-year-old twin girls said they were horrified by the accusations.

"I'm appalled. He lives right there. No, I can't have that," said Micki Golden.

"We're not friends with the guy. He seems like a normal Joe. You always hear that on the news. I had no sixth sense about it. Nothing like that," said Steve Patton.

Pittsburgh police say Moffat sexually assaulted a 13-year-old girl multiple times dating back to 2011, according to the complaint.

Police said they used evidence lifted from Mocospace, a mobile game community, after the suspect uploaded the acts to the site. Police also said they discovered the alleged victim while investigating other similar cases involving Moffat.

The alleged victim told police that Moffat knew she was only 13 at the time and that he would stalk and harass her, according to the complaint. She claimed that he would wait for her to get off the school bus and that he allegedly threatened to hurt her if she told anyone, claiming that he slapped and choked her before, according to the complaint.

Court documents show this is the not the first time Moffat has been accused of violence. Two women filed protection from abuse orders against him -- one in 2008 and another three weeks ago.

Both women claim Moffat stalked them when they broke up, sent angry messages and terrified them. One woman wrote that he was jealous and controlling and that she ended their relationship because of his anger issues. The other woman wrote that Moffat hit her, threw her to the ground and spit in her face.

Police said Moffat was arrested at his home Tuesday morning on charges including rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, aggravated indecent assault and sexual exploitation of children.

Images: Girl's father trashes Pittsburgh rape suspect's car

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Dustin Moffat

Pittsburgh police have arrested Dustin Moffat, 32, of Lawrenceville, who they say is accused of raping a 13-year-old girl multiple times, videotaping it and uploading it to a website.

MARCIE CIPRIANI, YOU'RE LIVE AT ALLEGHENY COUNTY JAIL TONIGHT. YOU HAVE LEARNED THIS GUY HAS A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE. Reporter: YEAH, EXACTLY, ANDREW. ACCORDING TO THESE COURT DOCUMENTS, DUSTIN HAS BEEN CHARGED WITH A CRIME AGAINST A CHILD IN THE PAST. HE HAS TWO ORDERS AGAINST HIM AND NOW HE IS HERE IN JAIL CHARGED WITH RAPE AND SEXUAL ASSAULT OF A CHILD. THIS IS DUSTIN MOFFIT, THE MAN WHO POLICE SAY REPEATEDLY RAPED A 13-YEAR-OLD GIRL, CHOKED HER, SPIT ON HER, AND R HARASSED HER. POLICE SAY HE RAPED HER JUST DOWN THE STREET FROM WHERE SHE GREW UP. THE GIRL'S FATHER WAS SO ANGRY IT IS BELIEVED HE ATTACKED THIS SUV IN FRONT OF US. WE ARE NOT SHOWING HIM TO PROTECT HIS DAUGHTER. HE POSTED HIS RAPON LINE. IT IS DISGUSTING. SHE HAS TWO 12-YEAR-OLD TWIN DAUGHTERS. THIS IS HOME BASE FOR A LOT OF KIDS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD. POLICE SAY THERE IS WHERE MOFFIT PREYED ON HIS VICTIM, WAITING FOR THE GIRL TO GET OFF OF HER SCHOOL BUS AND FORCING HER TO HIS HOME FOR SEX. ACCORDING TO THE CRIMINAL COMPLAINT, WHEN SHE WOULDN'T GO, MOFFIT WOULD SPIT ON HER AND TALK HER. WE HAVE LEARNED THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME MOFFIT HAS BEEN ACCUSED OF VIOLENCE. HE HAS HAD TWO PROTECTION FROM ABUSE ORDERS FILED AGAINST HIM. MOST RECENT JUST THREE WEEKS AGO. ACCORDING COURT DOCUMENTS IN THAT CASE HIS GIRLFRIEND ACCUSED HIM OF BEING JEALOUS AND CONTROLLING. HE RECENTLY WROTE A SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNT IN MY NAME, WHICH HE CONTACTS MEN, GIVES THEM MY NUMBER, ASKED FOR CRUDE PICTURES OR COME TO MY HOME. SHE ALSO REPORTED SHE IS AFRAID OF MOFFIT. CLAIMS POLICE SAY HIS TEENAGE VICTIM MADE TOO AND ONE INVESTIGATORS SAY SHE NEVER CAME FORWARD BEFORE. DUSTIN MOFFIT REMAINS HERE IN THE ALLEGHENY COUNTY JAIL.

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MARC LEVY and PETER JACKSON, Associated Press

Wolf seeks billions in higher taxes for schools, tax revamp

Pennsylvania governor delivers first budget plan to Harrisburg

In an ambitious first budget plan, Gov. Tom Wolf on Tuesday proposed more than $4 billion in higher state taxes on income, sales and natural gas drilling to support a huge injection of money to schools and property tax cuts as part of an overhaul of the way public education is funded.

Gov. Tom Wolf says he wants more seniors to obtain health care in their home instead of a nursing facility. He says his budget plan would expand home- and community-based long-term care for thousands of people.

Wolf, a Democrat, is also asking a circumspect Republican-controlled Legislature to cut corporate taxes by hundreds of millions of dollars, borrow more than $4 billion to refinance pension debt and inject new money into business loans, clean energy subsidies and water and sewer system projects.

All told, new aid for education, plus money to reduce school property taxes, would amount to more than $4 billion.

Saddled with nearly $4 billion in projected deficits and rising costs in the budget year that starts July 1, Wolf said his plans would put the state on sound financial footing after three credit downgrades last year.

Top Democrats applauded it. But the Legislature's Republican leaders quickly brushed off the nearly $5 billion in increased state spending as effectively dead on arrival -- one called the size "historic" -- although they said they may eventually find common ground on cutting pension costs and school property taxes.

Wolf said his budget would make the tax system fairer, improve public schools hit by recent cutbacks in state aid and foster a more vigorous business environment that produces more good-paying jobs.

The total tax burden on average middle-class homeowners would drop by 13 percent under his plan, Wolf said.

"It includes Democratic ideas, Republican ideas and clearly ideas that exist beyond party lines," Wolf told a joint session of the Legislature. "It is rooted in the values of fairness, inclusion and common sense. ... But above all, it recognizes that Pennsylvania will not improve until we rebuild the middle class."

Pennsylvania, Wolf said, stands at a crossroads, with an education crisis and bottom-of-the-nation rankings in job growth and creditworthiness.

"The reality is, times have changed, and ideas that may have worked in the past simply aren't working anymore," Wolf said. "Our budget should be as bold and ambitious as Pennsylvania has been over the past 300 years."

If passed, it would represent the biggest revamp in state taxation in decades. Republicans showed little enthusiasm for any of it.

"I don't think Pennsylvanians voted for that," Scarnati said. "His proposals are so largesse in tax and spend that it's very difficult even to, with a straight face, sit down at a negotiating table."

By Wolf's count, his plan would increase overall state spending through the state's main bank account by less than 3 percent to $29.9 billion from the current budget. Counting pension obligations and collections for school property tax relief, the increase is about 16 percent to $33.7 billion.

House Majority Leader Dave Reed, R-Indiana, said the "historic" increase would be unacceptable.

"Not only to the General Assembly, but to the people of Pennsylvania," Reed said.

The centerpiece of Wolf's plan is a $3.8 billion property-tax initiative, including $600 million in casino gambling revenue, that he said would reduce homeowner and farmstead property more than 50 percent in the 2016-17 school year. Another $426 million would go toward new $500 rebates for renters with incomes up to $50,000.

Communities with higher tax and poverty rates would receive proportionately more relief.

It would help correct a system in which the state contributes a smaller portion of school costs than Alabama, Mississippi or West Virginia, punishing lower-income homeowners and fixed-income seniors with a high burden of property taxes.

"That means poorer urban and rural districts are not getting the help they need," Wolf told lawmakers. "The gap in spending between rich districts and poor districts has, as a result, exploded."

For education, Wolf is seeking nearly $1 billion in increases, from pre-kindergarten programs to universities. Another nearly $700 million more would to go the Department of Human Services, which administers health care and social services programs.

The biggest increase in tax revenues would come from a proposed hike in the personal income tax -- the first in 11 years -- to generate $2.3 billion next year. The flat tax would increase from 3.07 to 3.7 percent.

Wolf's proposed increase in the sales tax would be the first in nearly 50 years, lifting the rate from 6 to 6.6 percent while eliminating dozens of exemptions from the tax.

He also would increase taxes on natural gas drilling, banks and tobacco products while cutting corporate taxes. The per-pack tax on cigarettes would rise by a dollar to $2.60 per pack.

INCOME AND SALES TAXES. THAT'S RIGHT. SOME TAXES GO UP. SOME TAXES GO DOWN. DEPENDS ON YOUR PARTICULAR BUDGET AT HOME. THE GOVERNOR WILL FIGHT HARD TO MAKE SURE YOU GET THE WHOLE STORY ON THE BUDGET. FOR EVERY CRITIC WHO FOCUSES ON THE INCOME TAX INCREASE, GOVERNOR WOLF WILL REMIND THEM HE WANTS TO CUT PROPERTY TAXES IN HALF. GOVERNOR WOLF ADDRESSES THE HOUSE AND SENATE SAYING HE WILL DO EXACTLY WHAT HIS CAMPAIGN BECAME KNOWN FOR. IT STARTS BY DOING WHAT EVERY OTHER GAS PRODUCING STAYS HAS DONE. WE ARE GOING TO PLACE A SEVERANCE TAX ON THE EXTRACTION OF NATURAL GAS. THE GOVERNOR SAYS THAT WILL PROVIDE MORE THAN $1 BILLION A YEAR, A BILLION DOLLARS TO PUT INTO PENNSYLVANIA CLASSROOMS. HIS BUDGET PROPOSAL CUTS THE AVERAGE TAX BILL BY 50%. MORE THAN A QUARTER MILLION SENIOR CITIZEN PROPERTY OWNERS WILL PAY NOTHING IN PROPERTY TAXES. ALL OF THAT, HE HOPES, MAKES YOUR INCREASE IN STATE INCOME TAX FROM 3% TO 3.7%, EASIER TO SWALLOW. I'M ASKING PENNSYLVANIANS TO LOOK THE A THE OVERALL PACKAGE. THIS IS A REFORM. THIS MAKES THE SYSTEM FAIR, IN TERMS OF THE WAY RERAISE FUNDS FOR ALL OF THE PUBLIC FUNDS WE PROVIDE. AND MAKES STRATEGIC INVESTMENTS AND PUBLIC GOODS THAT WILL DO THE MOST, I THINK, FOR PENNSYLVANIA'S FUTURE. LIKE EDUCATION. GOVERNOR WOLF DESIGNED THE BUDGET PACKAGE TO GIVE INCENTIVE TO MANUFACTURING COMPANIES TO SET UP SHOP AND EXPAND IN PENNSYLVANIA BY OFFERING 5% CASH BACK INCENTIVE. IF THEIR PAYROLL GOES OVER $1 MILLION IN WELL-PAYING JOBS, HE ALSO PLANS TO CUT CORPORATE INCOME TAX BY HALF AND CLOSE LOOP HOLES SO EVERY COMPANY DOING BUSINESS IN OUR STATE ACTUALLY PAYS. BECAUSE OF THESE LOOP HOLES, MORE THAN 70% OF COMPANIES DO NOT PAY CORPORATE INCOME TAXES AT ALL. THAT'S RIGHT.